Friction vs bankruptcy in productivity flow

There’s no denying that I constantly hide procrastination behind switching tools so I have a semblance of getting something done that day.

That said, sometimes it’s ok to declare productivity bankruptcy and move on to a new setup.

Roles and tasks change, and allowing friction with changing tasks is a good way to prioritize and apply your bag of tricks to new problems. But sometimes the whole environment changes so much that is your bag of tricks that need changing.

This week I returned to an old friend: Omnifocus. The combination of Apple Reminders, Fantastical and Trello that had ruled my life for the first quarter of the year, stopped making sense.

My tasks have gradually changed over the past few weeks. With the new site launched 1, the intensity of the team sprints and scrumb planning have decreased. I don’t talk to developers every few hours, rather wait for weekly meetings or even send emails to them. The increased friction of keeping everything in Trello did not justify the time and effort — since there’s minimal collaboration in the new ongoing tasks.

So it’s time for a change. Rather than clear big objectives, I now have many small tasks. Time to put the hammer away and bring out the drill with dozens of bits. It’s what’s needed to get the job done today.